New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.